Improving physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep in COPD: perspectives of people with COPD and experts via a Delphi approach

• Published in: PeerJ (San Francisco, CA) CA), 2018-04, Vol.6, p.e4604-e4604, Article e4604
• Main Authors: Lewthwaite, Hayley, Effing, Tanja W, Lenferink, Anke, Olds, Tim, Williams, Marie T
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Behavior; Behaviour change; Care and treatment; Chronic obstructive lung disease; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Clinical medicine; Design; Disease management; Exercise; Habitual behaviours; Health aspects; Health behaviour; Health care networks; Health promotion; Intervention; Kinesiology; Lung diseases; Medicine; Nursing; Nutrition; Obstructive lung disease; Patient care; Patient outcomes; Patient preference; Physical activity; Physical fitness; Public Health; Quality of life; Questionnaires; Rehabilitation; Respiratory Medicine; Sleep; Society; Yang, Cindy
• ISSN: 2167-8359; 2167-8359
• DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4604

Little is known about how to achieve enduring improvements in physical activity (PA), sedentary behaviour (SB) and sleep for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study aimed to: (1) identify what people with COPD from South Australia and the Netherlands, and experts from COPD- and non-COPD-specific backgrounds considered important to improve behaviours; and (2) identify areas of dissonance between these different participant groups. A four-round Delphi study was conducted, analysed separately for each group. Free-text responses (Round 1) were collated into items within themes and rated for importance on a 9-point Likert scale (Rounds 2-3). Items meeting criteria from each group were retained for rating by all groups in Round 4. Items and themes achieving a median Likert score of ≥7 and an interquartile range of ≤2 across all groups at Round 4 were judged important. Analysis of variance with Tukey's post-hoc tested for statistical differences between groups for importance ratings. Seventy-three participants consented to participate in this study, of which 62 (85%) completed Round 4. In Round 4, 81 items (PA  = 54; SB  = 24; sleep  = 3) and 18 themes (PA  = 9; SB  = 7; sleep  = 2) were considered important across all groups concerning: (1) symptom/disease management, (2) targeting behavioural factors, and (3) less commonly, adapting the social/physical environments. There were few areas of dissonance between groups. Our Delphi participants considered a multifactorial approach to be important to improve PA, SB and sleep. Recognising and addressing factors considered important to recipients and providers of health care may provide a basis for developing behaviour-specific interventions leading to long-term behaviour change in people with COPD.